I’m due in just over two months, and we have narrowed down our potential girl name to [name_f]Alice[/name_f]/Alys. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband prefers the spelling [name_f]Alys[/name_f], and while I love that it has ties to [name_m]Wales[/name_m] (although only more modernly), I have a couple concerns about it. I’m hoping for some perspective on these concerns.
Default Spelling: It is no question that [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is THE spelling that people will default to here in the U.S. As someone who grew up with the less common of two spellings of her name (two n’s instead of one), I have constantly had to correct people on the spelling. It was no end of frustration growing up, but some of it I think came from the fact that my spelling/name was advertised to me by my mother as the ‘better’ one and so I took that to heart as part of my identity so it always felt like a blow when someone couldn’t be bothered to spell my name right. [name_m]Even[/name_m] my childhood friend from 5 years old on didn’t consistently spell my name right through high school. Granted, as an adult, I can see that it would be easy to miss that it was two n’s instead of one if you aren’t looking for it whereas [name_f]Alice[/name_f]/Alys look distinctly different. I’m thinking that if we advertise differently to our prospective daughter that we can highlight her name as one spelling and that her identity is as the general ‘[name_f]Alice[/name_f]’ grouping and that all the spellings are beautiful, but we just liked this one best, it could be a way of making it less of a problem for her.
The Trendy Impression: [name_f]Alys[/name_f] has been used historically (Cornish [name_f]Alice[/name_f] in Wonderland is [name_f]Alys[/name_f] and there are parish records with the name as well as significant people in history before the 80s), but it definitely can look like one of those spellings that is just used to make something ‘unique’. I’m sensitive to other’s opinions in this regard because I don’t want people to view my beautiful daughter’s name as something low class/parents just trying to be cool and different. I genuinely like the spelling and, as mentioned, it has history, though probably only known by name nerds. How likely do you think it is that this spelling will be viewed in this way?
To give context for future sibling names that could frame this name in other ways, other names we have considered/have on our list for either this baby (if boy) or later babies are: [name_m]Wesley[/name_m], [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] (family name)/Dorothea, [name_u]Owen[/name_u], [name_m]Gilbert[/name_m] (family name). [name_f]Alice[/name_f], spelled the traditional way, is a family name on my side but I don’t have specific ties to keeping the spelling the same as I’m not trying to specifically honor those relatives. The prospective middle name if we use [name_f]Alice[/name_f]/Alys is [name_f]Leonora[/name_f].
just out of interest, do you/your husband have any Welsh heritage? you can still use [name_f]Alys[/name_f] if not, but it does seem a bit odd iyswim. if one of you is at least part Welsh then i think [name_f]Alys[/name_f] would be nice to honour that, but otherwise [name_f]Alice[/name_f] would probably be more practical in the US.
I’ve been thinking about the name [name_f]Alys[/name_f] recently too. [name_f]My[/name_f] partner is from Cornwall (and his mother’s family is Welsh) so it feels like a good fit for us. I actually have a friend in the UK (not a close one) named [name_f]Alys[/name_f] and she never mentioned having any problems with it, although I never outright asked her. If you’re in the UK, it’s one of those names where the spelling isn’t intuitive but makes sense and can be quickly corrected when there’s a strong familiarity with other Welsh names (e.g. [name_u]Rhys[/name_u], [name_m]Emrys[/name_m], [name_f]Cerys[/name_f]). I say go for it, it’s a lovely twist on a classic name without going down the cr8tive spelling route.
I do have various welsh roots in my family history (ironically it is one of the highest percentages I am but they are all much further back in the tree), but most of my family has been in the U.S. since mid 1800s at least. There is Swedish on my husband’s side (his grandfather was 100%) and [name_m]German[/name_m] for my side in the most recent history.
The thing is I adore [name_m]Wales[/name_m]. It is my favorite country outside of the U.S. and my aunt is half Welsh, though she is not blood related. She and my uncle (blood related) live in [name_m]Wales[/name_m], but that doesn’t really have bearing on us.
That all being said, it being the modern Welsh variant is rather secondary to the fact that we both generally prefer the [name_f]Alys[/name_f] spelling.
You should go for it. You sound like you have a lovely connection with [name_m]Wales[/name_m] and welsh culture so it seems appropriate to use the [name_f]Alys[/name_f] spelling and it will be a nice story to tell your daughter.
Don’t see why you should not use [name_f]Alys[/name_f]. I live in the UK where Irish variation [name_f]Ailis[/name_f] and similarly Irish variation of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Eilish[/name_f] have become well known & If I were to use [name_f]Alice[/name_f] I would go for [name_f]Ailis[/name_f] (pronounces Ay-lish) out of personal preference so I don’t see why there would be any issue with [name_f]Alys[/name_f].
I feel your pain with this one. I love the name but the thought of spelling and pronunciation would be my hesitation. I grew up with a name that was misspelled and mispronounced frequently and while I love my name it was annoying to correct people. ( my co worker still spells my name wrong , despite me putting my signature in every email to her I have ever sent)
Personally I prefer [name_f]Alys[/name_f] for you because it holds some cultural significance and I love honouring our roots. That being said I would probably put it in the middle name spot so that you can use the name but not have the headache. [name_f]My[/name_f] partner and I have considered using [name_f]Alis[/name_f] and [name_f]Pauleen[/name_f] in middle name spots. The names are meaningful because they melt 2 names together but because they are not spelled the typical spellings I would put them in the middle
However ! You live in the US which means that generally there’s a lot of different acceptable spellings. So if your heart is set on it , use it ! It is simply beautiful after all!
Alys is beautiful. I think if you love it more than [name_f]Alice[/name_f], I’d say go for it but do prepare yourself for having to correct people about the spelling
Alys is beautiful and I prefer it to [name_f]Alice[/name_f] actually. If you hate the idea of correcting the spelling then it may not work for you, however maybe your daughter would enjoy a more unique spelling? You really cant know ahead of time unfortunately. One possible way of getting around this would be to use [name_f]Alyssa[/name_f] nn [name_f]Alys[/name_f]. That would be very cute but maybe not what you’re going for.
Alys is lovely and I would use it no matter what your heritage. [name_f]Alys[/name_f] was the usual spelling centuries ago across [name_f]England[/name_f]. [name_f]Lovely[/name_f] to see it used.
I had actually considered that, but didn’t like the flow of the full name with [name_f]Leonora[/name_f] and our last name. Thank you for the suggestion, because it is a good one!
Do you have a source for that? I’m very curious to read it. It is definitely go a long way in making me feel better about it to have that in hand for point #2.
Thank you everyone who has responded so far (even if I didn’t directly respond to you!). I really appreciate your thoughts and opinions on the name and it is making me feel better in general about using it
Hi OP, sorry it’s taken me a while to get back to you. You can look up the Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources online to see a range of spelling of [name_f]Alice[/name_f]/Alys/Alis/Alyce etc and where and when used. Many early documents latinised [name_u]Christian[/name_u] names so [name_f]Alice[/name_f]/Aliz and variations would often be written as [name_f]Alicia[/name_f], so it can be hard to ascertain numbers of certain spellings in the vernacular. It would be good to get hold of a copy of the [name_m]Oxford[/name_m] Dicitonary of [name_f]English[/name_f] First Names to see what it says.
As you’ve said yourself, you prefer the spelling [name_f]Alys[/name_f] to [name_f]Alice[/name_f] - so I think you can definitely go for it. You have your heart set on it and for you, personally, it holds significance.
Nonetheless, as someone who isn’t from the UK, I at first thought that [name_f]Alys[/name_f] was just a creative spelling. I really like the name [name_f]Alice[/name_f] and I think it is beautiful regardless of the spelling, but I personally will always prefer the Wonderland one.
Having learned that [name_f]Alys[/name_f] was the original spelling, I can appreciate it so much more, but it just still looks kind of made up to me…
Also, I am not from the US, so I just always find it a bit funny when Americans strongly identify with “being ___” (even though they aren’t…? when they are Americans with ___ ancestry or roots) and also base their name criteria & influences on that, among other things.
[name_m]Even[/name_m] if my great-great-grandfather emigrated to my home country from Scandinavia, I wouldn’t choose a Scandi name for that reason. I might choose it because I like it - just like you like [name_f]Alys[/name_f] - but I wouldn’t justify my choice with that ancestry.
But, again, as I am not American myself, I can’t really identify with your situation and the importance of your Welsh ancestry and your love of that country. You like the name and that (+your daughter liking it) is the most important thing.
Oh, and also, you hear the name so much more often than the spelling (and the sound is beautiful!!). Having a name with several spellings can be a hassle sometimes (as I know from experience) but in the end, you get used to it.
Thanks for your viewpoint! I will admit, I have similar feelings about the strong feelings of being associated with a particular nationality when they emigrated so long ago. That is why I didn’t cite my ancestry in my original post because really, that is not an influence for me choosing it. It was just a bonus that it seemed to align with a spelling used by a country that I loved visiting and would love to visit again and again.
Thanks for bringing up hearing the name far more than seeing the spelling. It does give some perspective.
